IRON MAN CANADA!!!!

This was a wild weekend the short version of the story is:

4 hours of sleep after a night shift. 6 hours of driving, a terrible sleep at a noisy campground, 2 more hours of driving and then my happy place. then another sleep at a noisy campground locals like to honk as they drive by or something about 2 hours of good sleep. Then 12 hours of volunteering, 4 hours of sleep in my car in the rain so I could be in line to sign up. then I drove to Calgary but stopped twice for about 2 hours of napping. Passed out for 8 hours in my own bed.

The long version--------------

I had planned on doing a side trip to the Myra Canyon to ride the rebuild trestles, but because I drove so much and not so much sleep the day before I thought it would be best to just get to Pentiction, it was a wise decision as there was a lot of road construction causing delays.

So I went to the expo and was able to try on a pair of Newton shoes... very nice!! But for $175 I don't know, it would help with the new running style I am trying to get into. I remember last years expo a bit more active and more booths. must be because it was the 25th anniversary last year. I got to the bike lot and found the captain that I was working for and was put to work greeting the athletes as they arrived to rack their bike and turn in their various bags of gear.

I saw my old co-worker from the nortel warehouse and his wife. I got a photo of Sara Gross and her bike, she later came in 4th in the ladies race beating Lisa Bentley. A fellow volunteer answered a question from Lisa and we all wanted to know what she asked and how she looked. I noticed she wasn't smiling as much as usual (she is known for her smile) after reading her race report I understood why. I had forgotten about her heal injury.

I wandered around the lot in aw of all the gear people had and taking photos. All I know is I want a power meter!! With 45 min left my coach walked in with his bike. It felt great to point out to him what I had learned about the layout of the bike lot.

I went to find the campsite I stayed at last year. This time I am certain the cost went up. $30 bucks for a patch of grass?? I was put in the RV loop as there was no RV's there and I went to bed early so I would be ready for my very long day. Well I think the locals think it's funny to honk when they drive by. I am a very deep sleeper and get get through anything but this night I just couldn't get any sleep. The funny thing is half the campsite was involved with IM waking up at 4 or 5am and the loop I was in was not.

I found the "back" way to downtown and parked the car by the greyhound and hiked to the lake. I got on the wrong side of the fencing but unlike last year I didn't have to double back to the gap 2 blocks back or walk all the way around the bike lot. This year I had a "bike lot" bracelet and the security pointed out the short cut to me. Through texting and a few calls "one crank" from GWN and I enjoyed the swim start. I broke my heart when at 2:20 there was still 7 people in the water and would not continue their day. I went back to the expo and all but the merchandise tent had moved so I had a nap under a tree.

Funny thing from last year. I took a photo of 3 people, 2 were standing and one was still swimming. The two standing carried on with there day, the guy still swimming was in the bike catch line and he missed the cut off because he didn't stand up in time. Our jaws dropped when we realized I had a photo of that moment in his life.

So me and about 70 people were on bike catch duty. about 7 people would actually catch the bikes being THROWN at them by the pros and some age groupers where I stuck to the RUNNER job. It was cool as we could see the pro bikes fill the racks how they came back covered in stuff that made you glad you had rubber gloves on. I saw my coaches bike go by the line of catchers so I grabbed it and racked it, oh and it was 3rd on it's rack. I was very proud to see Coach Mike run out of T2, I hooted and hollered like an idiot and got a bunch of volunteers to cheer him as he ran out.

So we finished our bike catch shift as the bike cut off arrived. I excused myself to go and get some real food as I hadn't eaten a whole bunch. I got directions to a very nice pasta place where IMC was on the TV above the bar. I ran back to the car to get the proper rain jacket and my chair that I was glad to have later on. I was a bit damp as it had started to sprinkle near the end of my first shift. It was a warm rain so I was overheating with the plastic on so I alternated with my fleece. It was odd watching people limp into the lot to find their bags and bikes. It was an eye opening experience to see the procedure to get your bike back. They had to prove to me that they are the person to pick up this bike.

I finished my 12 hour volunteer shift at 11:30 just in time to watch the last finishers. The chair came in handy here as well as my volunteer bracelet to take that short cut again :) I watched Sister Madonna miss midnight by just a min or two. I staggered to my car as my feet were killing me from standing on concrete all day long. So I slept in my car and got in the registration line around 6am. It was funny I planned on setting my alarm for 4am and sitting in my chair in the line up. But I passed out before looking at my alarm. When I woke up the guy in the tent in front of me asked how I slept, he and his buddies had a good laugh at me when they saw me curled up in the drivers seat.

So the line started to move at 8:30 but the tent didn't open up till 9. The volunteers were put in a separate line once we got through the gate. I think I was in the first 100 people to get my sign up certificate. I went to the bike barn to buy the IMC map that I expected to see at the expo and got some info. The local pool will let you shower for $2! They have separate room that only has a shower and lockers so you don't get access to the rest of the facility. That was all I needed, I felt like a new person. I went back to the visitor center and bought 2 bottles of the IMC wine. I will drink them after next years race. If your lucky I might share :)

I wanted to drive back to Calgary in one day as I was running out of clean clothing, that's what I get for packing when I woke up from my night shift. But the excitement and the work I did took it's toll on me. I slept for an hour outside the DQ in Vernon and a quick nap at another visitor center somewhere. I stocked up on suger products and I finally fully woke up mentally for the twisty Rogers pass road.

All in all it was another trip to the happiest place in the world.